Quality of Governance

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Quality of Governance: Values and Violations

      • Hester Paanakker, Adam Masters, Leo Huberts

      Pages 3-24

3. Institutionalizing Values in Governance Practices

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25

      PDF

   2. Democratic Legitimacy in Bureaucratic Structures: A Precarious Balance

      • Neal D. Buckwalter, Danny L. Balfour

      Pages 27-43

   3. Dissecting the Semantics of Accountability and Its Misuse

      • Ciarán O’Kelly, Melvin J. Dubnick

      Pages 45-79

   4. Transparency Assessment in National Systems

      • Sabina Schnell

      Pages 81-101

   5. Integrity and Quality in Different Governance Phases

      • Leo Huberts

      Pages 103-130

   6. The Multi-interpretable Nature of Lawfulness in a National Framework

      • Anna Simonati

      Pages 131-156

4. Translating Values in Practitioner Behavior

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157

      PDF

   2. Mission Impossible for Effectiveness? Service Quality in Public–Private Partnerships

      • Anne-Marie Reynaers

      Pages 159-180

   3. Professionalism and Public Craftsmanship at Street Level

      • Hester Paanakker

      Pages 181-213

   4. Robustness and the Governance Sin of Bureaucratic Animosity

      • Adam Masters

      Pages 215-234

5. Conclusion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 235-235

      PDF

   2. Reviewing Quality of Governance: New Perspectives and Future Research

      • Adam Masters, Hester Paanakker, Leo Huberts

      Pages 237-247

6. Back Matter

   Pages 249-259

   PDF

"Quality of governance: Values and violations arrives at a time when governance faces new and often dire challenges and as traditional democratic values strain against the rise of authoritarian forms of populism and anti-government sentiment. This comprehensive volume considers these challenges from a variety of angles- transparency, bureaucratic pathologies, public values, sector relations- but at the same time manages a higher degree of integration than one usually finds in most edited volumes. The individual selections focus on topics of widespread interest but with new theories, analytical frameworks and insights. This book should be read by anyone interested the values bases of governance and in exploring good ideas about how to improve policy and management. The book serves a professional academic audience but could also prove quite useful as a text or supplementary book for graduate and undergraduate courses in public affairs."
Barry Bozeman, Regents'Professor, Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs, USA. 


"Public governance matters. It touches almost every aspect of our lives, from the most mundane to the most important, the most commonplace to the most intimate. This book critically examines some of thorniest values and issues for governance in the 21st century -- democracy, legitimacy, accountability, transparency, integrity, professionalism, and more -- all of which are of crucial importance for practice and research on the quality of governance."
Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University, USA, Co-Chair of the Study Group ‘Quality of Governance’ of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences.


"This volume provides an up-to-date overview of key themes and theories about the quality of governance. Many of the field's most thoughtful scholars have contributed chapters on both the positive and problematic dimensions of good governance, providing fascinatinginsights in this important topic. Therefore, this book is a must read for all scholars, students, and practitioners interested in improving the quality of governance in their countries and institutions."
Zeger van der Wal, National University of Singapore and Leiden University The Netherlands.


This volume unravels the meaning of public values for the quality of governance, for good and bad governance, and examines their significance in governance practices. It addresses public values in context, in different countries, policy sectors and levels of governance. In a series of in-depth studies, a critical eye is cast over eight central values: democratic legitimacy, accountability, transparency, integrity, lawfulness, effectiveness (in terms of service quality), professionalism and craftsmanship, and robustness. How does for instance integrity or lawfulness contribute to the accomplishment and preservation of quality, and what happens if we fail to address it adequately? This unique exercise yields important lessons on the differences in normative interpretation and application of often abstract values in the demanding administrative settings of today. Practitioners, scholars and students of public administration, public management and political science will find the volume a vital resource for theory and practice.

• governance
• governance
• public values
• quality of governance
• democracy
• legitimacy
• bureaucracy
• accountability
• governance relations
• transparency
• integrity
• impartiality
• incorruptibility
• good governance
• integrity violations
• lawfulness
• administrative reform
• effectiveness
• service quality
• public-private partnerships

• Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

  Hester Paanakker

• Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

  Adam Masters

• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  Leo Huberts

Hester L. Paanakker is Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on issues of governance quality with a substantial focus on public craftsmanship, public values and ethics and integrity research.


Adam B. Masters is a lecturer in the Centre for Social Research & Methods, and Director of the Transnational Research Institute on Corruption (TRIC) at the Australian National University (ANU), with expertise in corruption and anti-corruption; transnational organized crime; and the influence of culture on international organizations.


Leo W.J.C. Huberts is Professor of Public Administration at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and author or editor of more than twenty books on systems of governance and power, police administration and integrity, public corruption and fraud and on integrity management.

Policies and ethics